YuSynth Octal Random Gate Module

When I designed this module, I had in mind to control a Moog 960 sequencer in a random fashion, but many other applications may be imagined. On the 960 sequencer, a single step can be selected directly by it’s IN jack, that is, instead of having the step sequenced in the logical sequence order you may call every step in an arbitrary order provided that you address directly each step with the IN jacks. The Octal Random Gate provides eight GATE OUT signals that are randomly sequenced, that is, one out of eight output is active and this randomly changes at every clock pluse. Therefore, at each clock pulse sent to the GATE IN a randomly selected output is set to the ON state while all the other outputs are set to the OFF state.

A toggle switch makes it possible to choose the gating mode between two modes: in the first mode the ON status of the selected output lasts until the next clock pulse; in the second mode, the ON status is gated by the clock pulse, that is it lasts as long as the clock pulse is at the ON status and returns to OFF as soon as the clock signal returns to OFF (see diagram below : output X selected during one clock cycle, output Y selected during two consecutive clock cycles; left GATE MODE OFF, right GATE MODE ON).

It’s a DIY project, with schematics, PCBs and a part list. Details at Usson’s site.